Finally got my copy of NHL 2K10 today, and I gotta say, it's basically everything that EA is trying to do with NHL 13. Don't get me wrong, it's not a spectacular game, and it definitely could benefit from EA's "polish", but it gets almost all of the fundamental aspects of the sport completely right.
Just from the 3 exhibition games I've played so far:
*Faceoffs are way more realistic. There's a jostle and scrum that is legitimately competitive and not exploitative like how EA does it. Also, if both players are too aggressive, the ref will wave you off and make you reset (though I haven't seen players actually get switched)
*The "turbo button" is basically EA's new "true performance skating". When you press the right trigger, you'll move the puck ahead with one hand on your stick, and the speedy guys can really blow by defenders. Kinda funny when you think that EA went from having a turbo button...to no turbo...to a "hustle" button...and now they'll have whatever the hell "top end speed" ends up being. Sounds like a turbo button...
*Goalies are not full retard. Not only do they anticipate where the puck is going, but they react with the proper positioning and movement. It's the weirdest feeling when you discover that slapshots are a more effective means of scoring than cross crease passes (which the AI will intercept or the goalie will easily slide over to grab). Furthermore, if you get too close to the goalie on a breakaway, he'll come at you and poke the puck away with authority. Talk about a difference from shitting himself and flopping around on the ice.
Also, astonishingly enough, when you're on a power play and penalty killing team clears the puck, the goalie will go out and get it so you can send it back up the ice. It's really incredible how much this speeds up the game...as opposed to watching the puck sitting behind the net for 10 seconds until a d-man is able to chase it down. What's even more impressive is that 2K somehow managed to program this without entirely breaking the game. HOW DID THEY DO IT?!?!?!
*There's no dipshit dangling and impenetrable forcefields around the puck carrier. If you dick around with the puck too long in traffic, it will be knocked away. On this subject, the puck bounces around a lot more, and has to be chased down. Even on rebounds off the goalie, there feels like a legitimate scramble to get to and recover the puck. This results in players just trying to swat it back toward the net, instead of recovering, controlling, and taking perfectly placed shots in the top corner in a fraction of a second. Again, how did they manage this wizardry in programming?
*Oh, also, as Brandon noted last night, when a player takes a slapshot to the face, he actually reacts to it and goes down. Again...AMAZING! It's almost like 2K understands that getting hit with a hard rubber object traveling at 90+ mph might affect the player being struck. I tell ya...these guys have to be geniuses or something.
The downfalls of the game are that it can feel a bit stiff at times. The animations are a bit lengthy, so if you stick lift or go for a hit at the wrong time, it takes forever to recover. This isn't really surprising for a game that's almost 3 years old though, and we probably dealt with the same stuff in NHL 10.
Honestly, I feel like EA's polish is about the only thing they have to sell. They glitz up the gameplay with these giant hits and pretty graphics, and supposedly you get a "better game". So far, it feels like 2K10 does more things right than even NHL 12...the gameplay just isn't as slick. If EA would get their heads out of their asses and actually make a game that represents the sport, they could easily reach this level of competence. Maybe NHL 13 will be the year... yeah... heh... sure... like...i'm serious...
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ing shenanigans!
